QUESTION OF: Reevaluating Policy on Currently Illicit Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances

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ISSUE: 1

QUESTION OF: Reevaluating policy on currently illicit narcotics and psychotropic substances and its social, economic, legal, ethical, and medical implications

CO-SUBMITTERS: Denmark, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Egypt, Russia, Romania, Nigeria, and Ireland

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

Deploring the fact that the international drug trade is a $400 billion global industry carried out with huge capital, manpower, means of transportation, expertise, influence, and power,

Believing that international cooperation is necessary to create universal and coordinated action to effectively eradicate illicit drug trade,

Recognizing that effective drug policy must focus on the aspects ofprevention, treatment, harm reduction, and control,

Understanding that young people are especially vulnerable to the experimental use of drugs due to underlying causes such as a deprived childhood, too little contact with adults, and marginalization in relation to education and training,

Noting the direct correlation between drug use and problematic social and economic life conditions and consequences,

Observing the fact that the most prevalent drugs internationally are cannabis, opioids, opiates, cocaine, amphetamine type stimulants, and ecstasy,

Fully alarmed that 230 million people are estimated to have used an illicit drug at least once this past year,

Emphasizing that illicit drugs undermine economic and social development and contribute to crime, instability, insecurity, and the spread of HIV/AIDS,

Deeply disturbed that one in every 100 deaths among adults is attributed to illicit drug use,

Congratulating the efforts of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 which remain the foundation for international efforts curbing illicit narcotics and psychotropic substances,

Expressing appreciation for the work of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),

Fulfilling the commitment in the United Nations Charter to promote the social and economic progress of all peoples,

Acknowledging the contributions of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) in regulating the trade of narcotics, keeping in constant communication with governments, and training drug control administrators,

Concerned at times with the inaction and corrupt practice of member states on this issue,

Aware of the World Health Organization (WHO) definitions of narcotics as any chemical agent that induces stupor, coma, or insensibility to pain, and psychotropic substances as any chemical agent whose primary or significant effects are on the central nervous system, as defined in the WHO Lexicon,

Recognizing the role of the Internet in the ability to easily find information related to the making of drugs and its relevance to the prevalence of home laboratories,

Recognizing the influence of artists and the media on perceptions of drug use by youth,

Continuing to support the pharmaceutical use of narcotic and psychotropic substances internationally,

1. Recommends member states delegate the responsibility of drug prevention intervention and treatment to municipalities (or the equivalent governing body) that have close contact with citizens and can act on a local scale;

1. Further recommends that municipalities participate in cross-sectoral collaboration between schools, the social administration, and the police (called SSP collaboration) on prevention methodsby:

a)planning universal, selective, and indicated prevention in schoolsstarting at the elementary school level via health curricula, in conjunction with parents, including evidence-based information about illicit drugs,

b)providing local leisure programs in collaboration with associations, restaurants, bars, and discothèques, especially in vulnerable residential settings,

c)partnering with national health authorities that can provide informative material, knowledge sharing, methodology projects, and specific counseling to municipalities;

1. Supports the creation of national knowledge centersdesigned to provide counseling services to local authorities and their specialist staff to better deal with young people’s problems from a broader perspective;

1. Approves of initiativesthat reach a younger audience traditionally more difficult to reach and that does not often admit their own drug problems, such as:

a)youth-friendly websites,

b)texting-based prevention initiatives (i.e. Denmark’s SMASH which is an anonymous support and counseling project for young users with the purpose of providing harm reduction, information and support in relation to stopping drug use),

c)drug-free festivals that distribute printed materials about drug prevention including web banners, T-shirts, posters, go cards, cell phone ring tones and require attendees to sign statements;

1. Encourages nations to implement multi-pronged optional coordinated treatments by:

a)allowing Social Service administrative bodies to refer a person to the medical and social treatment of drug abuse and prepare a treatment plan to secure correlation between the medical and the social aspects of drug use treatment,

b)guaranteeing access to drug treatment within 14 days after the first contact or request by said person referred to treatment while prioritizing factors such as age, gender, and economic backgrounds,

c)delegating municipalities the responsibility of providing outpatient treatment (both medical and psychological) to the referred user, which may be supplemented by inpatient treatment and/or daycare treatment if there is a need for a change of environment and/or a more structured intervention,

d)allowing referred users to opt to participate in group therapy including motivating talks and cognitive and solution focused methods of discussion, as opposed to individual psychological treatment;

e)supporting outreach street plan work, drop-in centers, syringe exchange programs, and social support at home with the aim of reducing or minimizing drug-related harm for chronic drugs users,

f)creating a better pathway for hospitalization patients with more coherence in their treatment through the hiring of“social nurses” who know how to:

1. act as mediators between drug users and staff,
2. help the rest of the hospital staff gain the knowledge required,
3. help drug users adjust to a hospital situation,
4. ensure that there is follow-up after the patient has been discharged

1. Commendslocal efforts to reintegrate rehabilitated drug users into societythat:

a)establish agreements between municipalities (or equivalent governing bodies) and housing organizations such that idle flats can be rented at a reduced rate to users that have been living in a temporary nursing home or inpatient services,

b)support the creation on a local scale of “drop-in centers” that offer rest, food and warmth, social care, and an opportunity to create a climate of change for users and are also able to help users transition from a social back-to-work program to actual employment through mentor schemes,

c)provide opportunities for users to catch up on lost schooling through “adult education centers” that teach basic primary and secondary education in order to increase the user’s ability and desire to take responsibility for their own lives and to take part actively in society;

1. Strongly encourages governments that legalize the usage of narcotic and psychotropic substances for pharmaceutical purposes to assure government transparency and accountability through:

a)annually publishing national reports on the drug situation available to the general public,

b)overseeing hospital distribution of narcotic and psychotropic substances for medical use and ensuring that the use is in fact pharmaceutical;

1. Calls on member states to cooperate and work towards a common goal by reporting any findings related to drug use to the WHO and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC);

1. Encourages member states to follow the model of adopting a health-oriented approach to the issue, as outlined in the UNODC paper “From coercion to cohesion: Treating drug dependence through health care, not punishment” in order to:

a)reduce stigma against drug dependence and drug users,

b)improve prospects for treated individuals in society,

c)eliminate ethical issues related to the imprisonment of drug users and drugdependent individuals;

1. EncouragesMore Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs) to subsidize the growth of alternate crops in narcotic producing countries so farmers do not produce narcotics;

1. Recommends that every party creates a national maritime drug patrol that will regulate and inspect any ships and vessels that are within their maritime borders in affiliation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in which they would:

a)have full authority to take any drugs proven to be illicit,

b)have full responsibility to notify international authorities of any seizures of illicit drugs that are recorded,

c)givethe responsibility to international authorities of concluding any punishment against the organizers of ships or vessels carrying illicit drugs;

1. Requests that any countries that produce precursor chemicals of narcotic and psychotropic drugs have strict precursor control and ensure that:

a)strict regulations are enforced to prevent the diversion of precursor chemicals for illicit purposes,

b)the trade of precursor chemicals that are not intended for illicit purposes is not affected;

1. Further recommends that all parties promote transparency in regards to government drug administrations in order to prevent lenient and corrupt practices towards drug businesses that ultimately lead to their growth and proliferation;

1. Decides to remain actively seized upon the matter.